Why AEW Must Steal THIS Hated WWE Idea

Bryan Danielson
All Elite Wrestling

Some will fail to do it, as MJF, the heel king of episodic wrestling television, tells his greatest story. The man is incredible at threading stories together on a week-to-week basis. He's also extraordinarily despicable. He will make the AEW audience desperate for somebody, anybody, to make AEW feel like AEW again. There's so much to play with here. MJF can threaten, like Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, to only defend it on rare occasions. He can introduce a custom spinner belt designer with Burberry straps. He can WWE the living sh*t out of his f*ck finishes, in moderation. The balance must be careful - the idea is to lampoon a rotten trope, not use it to the exact same effect - but AEW can strike it. And they have already: Chris Jericho isn't really a sports entertainer; he's a pro wrestler enjoying a superb year.

Danielson should be the man to do it, ultimately. His restoring the sanctity of pro wrestling ties into the philosophy of the Blackpool Combat Club, and he deserves a proper run with the championship where Mox, ironically, might be affected by it. Does anybody really want Mox to play the perennial caretaker manager?

This should be Danielson's last career accomplishment. He's one of the greatest of all-time, but his booking in AEW hasn't always reflected that. The American Dragon rescuing the heart and soul of a mainstream wrestling promotion - on purpose this time - is a great story that can fictionalise, and monetise, the damage done to the belt.

Such a narrative development is a monumental risk. What if the story doesn't work?

CONT'D...(5 of 6)

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!